Means for supervision of machine and tool work.



SR 1i549586 wul In unnwu UHWFUY.

P. B. DELANY.

MEANS FOR SUPERVISION or MACHINE AND TOOL WORK.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9 I911.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

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Syznems,

Ccmrafizoc! energy.

machines or tools.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PATRICK B. DELANY, OF SOUTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

MEANS FOR SUPERVISION OF MACHINE AND TOOL. WORK.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, PATRICK B. DELANY, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in South Orange, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Means for Supervision of Machine and Tool \Vork, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide means whereby the manager of a machine shop or factory may supervise or be informed respecting the work being done at the bench by mechanics or by power driven Thus by means of this invention, the manager of a factory in his private office may have the means of being apprised, audibly desired, of the way in which various machines or floor or bench tools are being operated and of the diligence with which workmen in the factory are carrying on their assigned duties. Thus, in a machine shop there may be lathes, planing machines, boring machines, etc., as well as workmen working at a bench using a vise for holding the work. Generally stated this result is attained by causing the machines to respectively transmit electrically to a distant central or supervising oflice the vibrations produced during its operation, and providing means at such office whereby the operation of the respective machines may be made manifest to the supervisor or manager.

This result may, in my judgment, best be realized by securing to the vise and other bench tools where feasible or to the bench on which they are mounted and to the frames or other appropriate parts of lathes and milling machines, planing machines, etc., the cntac s qf icroiflig .te enhmetrans init a s, and; by appropriate arrangement of circuits, each tool or machine is connected with a key or switch in the managers office properly numbered or designated for his information. On the closing of one of the keys or switches the vibrations, or rather the variations of contact in the microphone caused by the vibrations of the tool or machine may be reproduced in a telephone receiver which may be common to all machines. Not only can the manager tell whether or not a given machine is in operation but with very little practice he can ascertain by the sounds heard through the telephone receiver whether or not the ma chine is running at normal speed and smoothly and properly, as it should, and

Serial No. 613,418.

whether its operations are repeated with the frequency they should be if the workman in charge is diligent in his attention.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 shows diagrammatically a lathe upon which the microphone contacts are mounted and appropriately connected with a listening key and a telephone located at a distance and in a place that may be a managers oflice. Fig. 2 shows diagrammatically a plurality of microphones or telephone transmitters each connected to its respective key at a distance and in a place that may be the managers office.-

Referring to Fig. 1, to the frame of a lathe a is rigidly bolted or otherwise secured a microphone 6. One of the contacts of the latter is connected through the primary p of an induction coil to a key it"; and the other contact is connected through a local battery Z, I), with the bottom stop of the key. The secondary s of the induction coil has one terminal connection through the telephone :6 at the managers office to the key is and the other terminal connected to the back stop of the key. \Vhen, therefore, the key is de pressed, the primary and secondary circuits are closed and the shocks, jars and vibrations imparted to the microphone will be audible in the telephone.

In Fig. 2, o, d, 6 indicate the microphone contacts to be applied or secured to the frames of various instruments or devices. For each set or pair of microphone contacts there is a key 70. Corresponding contacts of the plurality of microphones are connected through a local battery Z Z) to the bottom stops of the respective keys is and the opposite contact of each microphone is connected, through the primary p of its induction coil, to its corresponding switch or key lever 76. Corresponding terminals of the three secondary coils of the induction coils are connected to a common wire f, the circuit of which passes through the receiving telephone e and is then connected to each of the keys is. The opposite terminals of said secondary coils are connected with the back stops of their respective keys. It is apparent that on the depression of any one of the keys, the behavior of the machine or instrument to which the corresponding microphone conitacts are attached will be audibly indicated in the common receiving telephone t. The wiring is not complicated and all the machines of a workshop or factory may be connected to the receiving station, 2'. 6., the managers oflice by two general wires, and two special wires for each machine. The keys it may be arranged in the form of push buttons symmetrically disposed in a switch or keyboard at the managers oflice and each, if desired, may have a number, or other appropriate designation, indicating the machine or instrument to which it belongs. The possibilities of immediate supervision by the manager of a large factory of the work that is going on is obvious and further reference to the capabilities or advantages of the system seems unnecessary.

It is thought the clearest and best results are obtained by excluding from the microphone or telephone transmitter (it being intended to include both terms in the name microphone) air vibrations produced by the noise caused by the operation of a machine, and, therefore, the microphone is inclosed in a suitable tight case that may be bolted or otherwise secured to the machine frame or bench. Such inclosing cases are indicated in Fig. 2 by the dotted lines 0, cl, 6', and in Fig. l, 1) indicates the casing inclosing microphone contacts such as are diagrammatically shown in Fig. 2. That plan excludes from the telephone in the managers office the general noises or hum of the factory. If the microphone contacts were arranged in a way to be affected by air vibrations, particularly if they be associated with a transmitting diaphragm, there would be heard in the managers telephone not only the sounds due to shocks, jars or vibrations of a machine or tool but also the sounds due to air vibrations set up at the machine or tool, and also more or less of the general noise or hum of the shop. Such additional sounds rendered audible by the managers telephone would, it is thought, be a detriment rather than an advantage.

I claim:

1. Means for supervising from a distance the operation of a plurality of tools or machines, comprising the combination with the tools or machines of inigrgphone contacts mounted upon appropriate pai't's tliereof, switches or keys corresponding respectively with the sets of microphone contacts and grouped at a distant office, a source of current and circuit connections connecting the several microphone contacts with their respective keys and means at the distant oilice for rendering manifest the microphonically transmitted vibrations of said tools or machines.

2. Means for supervising from a distance the operation of a plurality of tools or machines, comprising the combination with the tools or machines of microphone contacts mounted upon appropriate parts thereof, means for isolating the microphone contacts from air vibrations, switches or keys corresponding respectively with the sets of microphone contacts and grouped at a distant office, a source of current and circuit connections connecting the several microphone contacts with their respective keys and means at the distant office for rendering manifest the microphonically transmitted vibrations of said tools or machines.

3. A method of manifesting the vibrations of a distant operating-machine or tool, consisting in causing said vibrations to microphonically set up current undulations or pulsations in an electric circuit and converting said undulations into corresponding sounds at a point distant from the machine or tool.

4. A method of supervising the operation of a plurality of machines, consisting in electrically transmitting to a distant ofiice vibrations produced by the machine while in operation and there rendering the vibrations of the respective machines independently manifest.

5. A method of supervising the operation of a plurality of machines, consisting in electrically transmitting to a distant oifice vibrations produced by the machines while in operation and there rendering the vibrations of the respective machines audibly independently manifest.

6. A method of supervising the operation of a plurality of machines, consisting in electrically transmitting to a distant ofiice vibrations produced by the machines while in operation and there rendering the vibrations of the respective machines independently manifest at the will of the supervisor.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

PATRICK B. DELANY.

Vitnesses CHAS. E. PERKINS, R. H. SELLERS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

